Whatever Happened To... Foam Tyres?

[jimo746]

I remember in the mid-90's foam tyres were bring promoted as an alternative to slime filled tubes for puncture resistance, they were available in several colours, were advertised in all the MTB mags at the time and even reviewed by the MTB press.
For a Brief period I thought they might actually be a good idea, they were heavier than normal tubes/tyres but punctureproof and I think available in different densities of foam.
I never got any as I didn't know anyone else running them.

Who made them? where are they now? can modern technology not improve upon the original idea?

 

[velomaniac]

A company called green tyre make them.

I had one for my recumbent, I didnt like them they rode with a dead feeling, didnt grip as well as rubber especially in the wet and were a bugger to fit.

Would only suggest use of the 700c road bike variant where hardness is an advantage but even then only in the dry.

 

[mattbrown]

now that is a blast from the past, it didnt help if you had a buckle and always skidded in the same spot.

 

[hamster]

They are one of those ideas that never go away. They don't work, as you need the air pocket around the whole tyre (for reasons that are too technical and long to go here).

Anyway, they don't work and are just a more squidgy form of solid tyre.

 

[marin man]

I had a pair of these......verdict=s**t

they took nearly an hour to fit and were dead feeling as above.they also caused more buckles than I care to remember..........best place for these is in history

 

[mountainloz]

the shop i worked in at the time sold (stocked) these
they were the worst idea going, horrible feel to them, useless tread design, pain in the backside to fit, even worse to remove
long live the Pneu!

 

[marin man]

I think I had to use a stanley knife to remove ,mine in the end :roll: nice colours though....think mine were red

 

[danson67]

Yup, they're still around...

I work with wheelchairs and they use these loads although the Schwalbe Marathon has stolen a lot of their market lately. JB Dunlop overturned solid tyres 120 Years ago, but they refuse to die :?

Greentyre were perhaps the worst out there... soft and loose.
Much better ones from American Airless, KIK Tire, Innova, Flexel, Urathon and Shox (who also made the Spin 3 spoke).
Still plenty of road and knobbly tyre models available in lots of horrible colours as well as black. Most of these guys also make foam inner tubes :shock:

Have a look at www.airfreetires.com, http://www.cewheelsinc.com/home.html

All the best,

 

[tee-one]

I run GREEN courior's on my 700c fixie, Bloomin great in warm weather or if you have been riding for a while and let em get supple. In the wet or straight from the off they are awefull tho interms of grip.


Itll throw ya straight off...

Love em tho. I have quite a few bikes and have to be in certain moods to ride each. So my fixie can sit there unused for months and i can just take it out without checking tyre pressures


As for them being loose. I havnt had that problem. The only time they are is if you use too wide of a rim, As the wall doesnt push out like a normal tyre to stop side to side movement. The tyre is suited to the specific rim width you buy it for. Not a chop and change jobby.

On the right rim its as tight as a nats arse

 

[mountainloz]

I think I still have a specific green tyre tyre lever in my toolbox somewhere
They're a great big green grp crowbar type thing